Lectures, special events, and classes exploring the Columbian encounter and its consequences

The five-hundredth anniversary of the landing of Columbus in the Americas offers an opportunity to learn about the initial
encounter between native peoples and Europeans and to reflect
on its momentous consequences for later Americans and for our
world today. "The Americas Then and Now: Beyond 1492"
focuses on a group of topics related to the encounter and its
consequences, such as the invention of "America" as
place and idea, European settlement and the environment, the persistence
of Native American perspectives since the conquest, the multiracial
societies of the Americas in the 20th century, and post-colonial
identity in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin
America.

"The Americas, Then and Now: Beyond 1492" is sponsored
by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts with the support
of the School of Natural Resources & Environment. It is administered
by the Program in American Culture: (G410 MH, 763-1460).

At the core of the Theme Semester are a number of courses from
different departments and programs, all concerned in one way or
another with "The Americas Then and Now." Most of these
are existing courses relevant to the Theme Semester. In addition, faculty members have developed new courses for the Theme Semester.

The following courses will constitute the offerings for this
Theme Semester.